Pakistan records lowest Covid deaths, cases since June 1

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Monday allowed resuming business activities in the province for six days a week following the decision of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in this regard, as the country recorded lowest deaths and positive cases in a day since June 1.

The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Sindh Covid Task Force headed by Chief Minister Murad Ali Ali Shah.The chief minister said businesses will remain closed on Sunday in the province and they will be allowed to continue their activities for six days in a week while following the Covid SOPs.

Shah also took notice of the report regarding the issuance of vaccine certificates without immunisation process and directed the inspector general of police and the Home Department for taking strict action against the person concerned. “No negligence and corruption will be tolerated during Covid vaccination drive,” he said.

The task force meeting also made it mandatory for people acquiring driving licence to get themselves vaccinated before getting hold of the document.

The chief minister shared that the Covid positivity ratio had declined to 4.5 per cent in the province, with Karachi reporting a positivity ratio of 9.5 per cent followed by Hyderabad with 5.65 per cent. He said the pressure on hospitals was also releasing now. The Sindh government also decided allowing academic activities of classes six to eight grades with 50 per cent attendance at a time from Tuesday (today).

Provincial Education Minister Saeed Ghani said the classes of sixth to eighth grades would resume from today and in case of further improvement in the Covid situation the primary classes will be started from June 21. According to the latest update issued by the NCOC, coronavirus claimed 34 lives and infected 1,019 more people, while 1,549 patients recovered from the disease during the last 24 hours.

Among 34 deaths, 33 patients were under treatment in hospitals and nine were on ventilators. The national Covid positivity ratio during the last 24 hours was recorded as 2.59 per cent.

Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 942,189 corona cases have been detected across the country. Punjab has reported 344,065 cases; Sindh, 328,184; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 136,074; Balochistan, 26,232; Islamabad, 82,139; Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 19,783; and Gilgit-Baltistan, 5,712.

A total of 13,857,250 corona tests, including 39,214 during the last 24 hours, have been conducted across the country, while 639 hospitals are equipped with Covid facilities. The national tally of fatalities has reached 21,723, while 2,676 corona patients were in critical condition.